77: Learning Investing & Economics Through Video Games

Investing by the Books interview with Andrew Wagner

Jul 26, 2022

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An Economics Master Class

My good friend, Andrew Wagner, was interviewed by the guys at Investing by the Books. Eddie Palmgren and Niklas Sävås speak with Andrew about his book, The Economics of Online Gaming, which chronicle’s his journey learning economics from a video game. The lessons Andrew shares in his book and on the podcast will make you a better investor. Links to the podcast and Andew’’s book follow.

As a sampling of how broad Andrew thinks, here’s his grouping of psychological biases, which he describes on the podcast:

Miscalculations: Too many shortcuts, wrong math, etc.
Avoidance: Trying to avoid contradictory information
Social-emotional pressures: Following the herd or doing things because they make you feel good
Physical limitations: Won’t make good decisions if stressed out, sick, etc.

He’s taken dozens of books on psychology and categorized the many human biases we all face into four broad categories. This helps simplify things and makes sure he’s able to recall these categories easily instead of wading through a huge list.

Enjoy!